Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was a tantalizing figure when he arrived in the big leagues on April 20.

By then, even though most Blue Jays fans had never seen him play, they knew about the pedigree (a member of Cuba’s royal family of baseball), the backstory (escape from Cuba with his older brother in 2016), the contract ($22 million over seven years), the long and lithe body and the meticulously prepared shock of hair that turns wild in the wind.

He also represented the future, the first of the heavily hyped clutch of Blue Jays’ prospects to land in The Show. That he was the first – and the first to get regular playing time – was a surprise that enhanced the allure.

He got off to a good start, and that helped too.

But his April 20 arrival from Double A was never part of the Blue Jays’ plan. Injuries dictated that they needed an infielder who could play second and shortstop for the short term. Their first choice would have been Richard...